Shades of the New World

Chapter 81: First madness

Evan stayed with her through all of this, wiping her tears with false copies of handkerchiefs. The tears that would drip through her cheeks would be smudged with it, but would never disappear. The futility of the task was breaking Evan's will, but he still stubbornly persisted.

To forget his situation, he started actively talking to Layla. Obviously, it was a one man show, featuring Evan's delusions and fantasy. He pretended that Layla responded, that his love could see him and hear him. That she lived with him.

Deep in his head, the spirit could notice that his mind was playing around at the edge of insanity and sooner or later he would go over the edge and fall to madness. Only his single-minded obsession allowed him to stay functional.

Hallucinations and reality created a confusing mess out of Evan's mind, making the spirit believe in his grand charade. Living in an artificial life weaved out of the lies that his brain gave birth to, Evan was the happiest man alive. There was only one unbreakable rule in his perfect world: don't touch anyone.

Obviously, Layla did not know of the delusional spirit that lived together with her. After she had finished her work, she began to focus on her official job, while also keeping an eye out for a man she might fancy.

The task turned out to be much harder than she anticipated. The only men she ever met were from the police, and practically all of them were certified assholes of a certain degree. Layla really did not know how they found the free time to nitpick at every single aspect of her work when they met.

As for others, they were not so welcoming to date a woman with so many gossips surrounding her. Her sharp features also did not help her situation. There were obviously some people who pitied her situation and tried to get to know her a bit better But they would immediately change their minds after a single visit to her house. The smell of decay and the row of mummies felt a bit too much for the young men to handle. They also felt an extremely hostile presence in the house, forcing them to reconsider their choices.

'It was a good thing that witch trials were abolished in the early 18th century, as Layla would have been a prime suspect for those religious zealots' Evin thought in retrospect.

But just because they couldn't burn her at a stake, didn't mean that they could not bombard her with ill-natured rumors.

Although they did not affect the Layla herself, it did affect the promise she gave to her father. But after pondering about the matter for a bit, she found a perfect solution: she decided to adopt a child. She didn't need to go through a year of pregnancy, and she could also skip the worst years of raising a child.

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Making up her mind, she immediately headed towards an orphanage. The sight inside pained her heart, every child looking at her with hope and desperation. A row of battered children, thin and malnourished, wearing thin rugs that could barely cover their tiny bodies. Had she been a millionaire, she would have adopted them all, but sadly, her finances told her that she could only afford to raise a single child comfortably.

She checked the children's hands one by one and found two children that met her criteria. A boy and a girl. The boy was only six years old, but the strong grips of his fingers and unparalleled dexterity greatly shocked Layla. She guessed that the boy had tried his hands in pick pocketing, but what kind of street child did not do such things in their lives?

The girl, though, was much younger and seemed to be in a more dire need of help. Her belly bloated due to the excess fluids and a pale, her dry, cracked skin that was peeling off at some spots. But all of that did not affect her deft hands and sharp mind. Even though she was only four years old, her gaze was akin to a predator in a jungle.

In the end, Layla decided to adopt both of them. Although her salary would not be enough to feed three mouths, she had enough in her savings to last until the two of them were able to start helping with her work.

The boy's name was Zack, and the girl was called Pebble. But under the insistence of Layla, she was renamed to Penelope. The girl didn't seem to mind that much.

The two children collected what little possessions they had, and the three went to their new house. A row of jealous children stares daggers at the two.

"Zack's a pickpocket! You can't take him with you, he'll ruin your life!" one of them shouted.

The culprit squirmed uncomfortably, but Layla could see him mouthing something at the child.

"Is it true?" Layla asked with a thin smile. Silence was the only answer she got from the boy. Zack was thinking about what kind of excuse he should make, what kind of face should he make when talking about it and how badly should he beat that meddling boy later. But the next question from his new "mother" shook him out of his silence.

"Have you ever got caught?"

"No," Zack replied subconsciously, since he used to brag about his deeds all the time. He promptly closed his mouth and glanced at Layla warily.

"Then that means you're innocent," Layla shrugged and prompted the boy to follow after her while she carried Penelope in her arms.

Zack felt grateful and blessed to meet such an understanding "mother". He was afraid of what would happen to him after this, but with thanks to this interaction, he felt that it might not be such a bad thing after all.

Layla could see that the two started to show some hints of fear when they neared her house. And when she approached the door and unlocked it, Zack could not help but utter.

"You're the Witch of Street 11?"

Zack then immediately shut his mouth and glanced at his new "mother" guiltily.

"So the kids call me that, huh? Surprised you didn't recognize me even though I'm that famous," Layla smiled when she first heard her nickname. She then started interrogating the two kids for more info.

"One of the older kids told me to not approach your street, because a witch would steal me and make a sewn doll out of me. I only knew about which house to avoid, not your appearance," Zack explained at her insistence. The kind lady that was like a ray of hope to him now looked like those evil sorceresses that came straight out of the stories he heard.

But when he entered the house, his fear got off the charts when he saw all the rotting brown linen wrapped around what seemed to be dead bodies. Just as he was wondering if he should run for it, he heard the thud of a door close behind him.

Fearfully, he looked back and saw a pale figure of Layla, locking the door from the inside. Perhaps it was his imagination, but he also seemed to see another figure next to the doorway gently taking off Layla's coat and hanging it on a nail the wall.

"Who's that?" he asked, no one in particular.

"What?" Layla asked, confused with the child's actions.

"There was someone who took off your coat and hung it from that nail!" Zack exclaimed, but when he looked at Layla again, she was just about to take her coat off.

"Hey, don't make me feel scared, I live alone," Layla replied and picked up Penelope and put her on a chair and started preparing food, while she urged the frightened boy to ask questions. Eventually, the conversation lead to Layla explaining the history of her family and the details of her job. The talk calmed the boy, although he could not understand most of the words that Layla used.

Contrary to the boy's antics, the girl was as calm as one could be. The sight of the mummified bodies didn't seem to affect her much, and she continued to survey her new home and her new foster mother.

None were able to see the mad spirit thrashing around the house. The comments of the young boy was the last push that tipped the spirit over the edge. He was clawing at the boy, trying to touch him in one way or another, trying to make the boy see him again.

His first lapse of madness had begun.